January 6, 2014
by Roger Hanney
This Sunday, January 12th, will see the 28th running of
Bogong2Hotham, also known as The Rooftop Run, in the literally breathtaking Victorian Alps. It is also the first year of the race being sponsored by
Hoka OneOne Australia.

The fun begins from the foot of Mt. Bogong, a nastily steep mountain in the middle of some of Australia’s best running country. Between the 2km mark and the 8km mark on this 64km course, runners will climb over 1100 metres. And then they’ll still have 56km to go.
Race director
Andy Hewat has overcome some
serious challenges as an extreme ultrarunner. And he is not only one of Australia’s most respected ultramarathon race directors (or RDs), but he is also one of those handful of adventure-seeking guys & girls who fits the category If They Haven’t Done It, It’s Not Worth Doing.
Here’s a bit of insight into one of Australia’s longest running ultramarathons from the man himself.
And if you haven’t conditioned your quads already, be prepared to leave them out there.
Hoka: Bogong 2 Hotham is a race steeped in tradition. How long have you been RD, how did you come to the position, and what are some interesting historical facts runners might be surprised to learn about B2H?
Andy Hewat: I took over the organising of Bogong for the 2011 event. Which means I actually started in the role mid 2010. I was approached by
AURA via then Secretary, Brett Saxon, (actually while I was at
Hardrock) to see if I was interested. The race had been left in the lurch by the previous RD who had only just taken over from Mike Grayling who ran it for 10 years prior to that. It was a no-brainer, I had run it 6 times (for 3 finishes) and loved it and couldn’t stand the idea of it not going ahead. It was also an opportunity to return it to its traditional format and cement its place in trailrunning folklore.
Interesting fact? Only three runners have ever broken 7hrs. Stu Gibson ran 6:59 in 2011, Neil Hooper ran 6:58 in 1985, just the second year and Andy Kromar has done it a couple of times. In 1998 he ran 6:58 but in 1996 he set the current course record of 6:41:02. That means the record has stood for 17 years. That same year, Andy also set course records at Cradle and 6 Foot Track. Will we ever see the Bogong course record fall?

A very serious elevation profile.
As a runner, what do you see as the most challenging aspect of B2H, and what strategic advice would you give to first-timers who might not be sure how to best plan their first alpine adventure? Read more of this post
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